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14. That apart, though it was sought to be contended by the learned counsel for the petitioner that the act confers powers on the Commissioner to regularize an unauthorized construction in exercise of powers under Section 455A of the Act, it is to be noted that though the said provision confers power on the Commissioner to regularize a deviation made to the sanctioned plan, the same is circumscribed by usage of the word 'may' which indicates that the said exercise of power is discretionary and cannot be sought to be invoked as a right. Further, the commissioner who is a creature under the statue has to act within the powers conferred on him by the Act. In other words by the mere usage of the word 'may' it cannot be assumed that the authority is conferred with unfettered and unbridled powers for regularizing constructions made in violation of the provisions of the Act and the norms prescribed under the building regulations. On a similar submission being made, the Supreme Court in Dipak Kumar Mukherjee Vs. Kolkata Municipal Corporation and Ors 1, dealing with an analogous provision of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation Act, 1980 held that the Municipal Commissioner in exercise of his discretionary powers conferred under Rule 25(3) therein can only regularise such deviations which fall within the provisions of the Act. (2013)5SCC353 Thus, the claim of the petitioner that a power is vested with the Commissioner to regularize any deviations made, in the view of this Court is a farfetched imagination as the Commissioner can only act within the parameters of the Act and not beyond that.

"1...Though the municipal laws permit deviations from sanctioned constructions being regularised by compounding but that is by way of exception. Unfortunately, the exception, with the lapse of time and frequent exercise of the discretionary power conferred by such exception, has become the rule. Only such deviations deserve to be condoned as are bona fide or are attributable to some misunderstanding or are such deviations as where the benefit gained by demolition would be far less than the disadvantage suffered. Other than these, deliberate deviations do not deserve to be condoned and compounded. Compounding of deviations ought to be kept at a bare minimum....